The Outsider
Chapter 1:A Fateful Meeting Thistle stared at the stinking pile of rubbish in front of him. He turned around and continued to search for rats. Thistle didn't like the rats that lived at Carrionplace, they could be filled with disease. Thistle's sister had died of disease from eating these rats.Thistle's father had been hit by a twoleg monster and his mother went to become a kittypet. However, the rats were the only thing to fill his belly other than twoleg rubbish. Thistle heard a sound, he peered around to see a white she-cat with tortoiseshell patches poking through the rubbish. "Who are you?" Thistle growled. The she-cat glared at him, "I'm Stormcloud" she replied. "Thistle" he finally relaxed and padded up to Stormcloud. "I'm from a group of cats called ShadowClan" Stormcloud told him. "We have a leader, and deputy, and queens who nurse kits" Stormcloud added. "What are you?" Thistle asked. "I'm a warrior, we hunt and fight for the clan." Stormcloud replied. "We have four rival clans, ThunderClan, SkyClan, WindClan, and RiverClan, sometimes the clans fight" Stormcloud continued to tell Thistle of the clans. However, Thistle just liked being there with her. When it was time for Stormcloud to go, Thistle's heart filled with grief. "I'll meet you again tomorrow!" Stormcloud called as she left. Thistle filled with joy and hopped around the rubbish, waiting for tommorrow to come. Chapter 2:The Dare Thistle paced around, anxioustly waiting for Stormcloud to return. Finally, a tortoiseshell and white cat appeared. "Hi" she greeted. Thistle's black pelt quivered with excitement. Stormcloud raced over to the largest pile of rubbish "Bet you can't climb to the top" she dared. Stormcloud gracefully climbed to the tip, where she rested on a soft, square, twoleg thing. Thistle walked to the foot of the rubbish heap. He placed one paw on a twoleg thing and the pile shook a little. Thistle catiouslly climbed up until he reached the top where Stormcloud was. "Finally!" Stormcloud exaggerated. Thistle playfully swiped Stormcloud's muzzle, the she-cat fell back over the edge of the twoleg thing. "No!" Thistle ran to help Stormcloud but the pile shook and the entire rubbish heap collapsed. Thistle got buried under the rubbish, the black tom pushed himself out and began to look around. "Stormcloud!" he called. Thistle finnally spotted the she-cat lying limp on the ground. "No!" Thistle ran over to Stormcloud. Stormcloud's eyes popped open, she got up and leaped at Thistle, giggling. "You scared me to death" Thistle gasped. "I'm fine" Stormcloud assured him. Thistle noded, relief washed over his pelt. "I have to go" Stormcloud murmured. "Goodbye" Thistle murmured. Stormcloud quickly rubbed her muzzle against his and dashed off. Thistle found that Stormcloud stayed in his thoughts all night. Was Thistle in love? Chapter 3:The Dog Thistle and Stormcloud had been meeting regularly, Stormcloud had shown Thistle how to catch prey other than rats. Thistle had finally begun to enjoy the taste of frogs and lizards. Stormcloud returned from a hunt with a lizard in her mouth. "Let's share" Stormcloud plopped the lizard down in front of Thistle. The two cats began to eat when barking sounded in the distance. "A dog!" Thistle hissed. Stormcloud bolted up and looked at Thistle "We will have to fight it" she told him. The dog entered the Carrionplace. "Ready?" Stormcloud asked Thistle. The black tom nodded. "Attack!" Stormcloud yowled and flung herself at the dog. Stormcloud slashed her claws across the dog's ears, blood splattered from the wound. The dog sank it's teeth into Stormcloud's tail and flung the she-cat across the ground. Thistle hissed and leaped on the dog's back, the black tom scored his claws across the dog's spine. The dog howled in pain and desperately tried to fling Thistle off. The dog eventually flung Thistle to the ground and prepared to kill him when Stormcloud rammed into the dog's side and knocked it over. Stormcloud slashed at the dog's exposed belly. The tortoiseshell and white she-cat gave the creature one last bite and it ran away. "Are you okay?" Thistle asked. Stormcloud was bleeding from her tail but nothing else. "I'm fine" she replied. "Good" Thistle murmured. "Well, i better go" Stormcloud meowed. "Goodbye" Thistle muttered. "Bye" Stormcloud called as she went back to ShadowClan. Chapter 4:A Close Call "Good job" Stormcloud complimented Thistle on his caught frog. "Let's share" Thistle meowed. The two cats began to eat when Stormcloud's ears perked, "A ShadowClan patrol!" she hissed. "Hide!" Stormcloud shoved Thistle behind a pile of rubbish. Four ShadowClan cats padded into Carrionplace. "Stormcloud! There you are!" one of them, a white tom exclaimed. "Yes, Cloudfall" Stormcloud murmured. "Tigerfang, go tell Dapplestar that we found Stormshine" a brown tom dashed off. A gray tom padded forward, "You can't keep wondering off alone" he meowed. "Yes, Eagleflight" Stormcloud growled. A smaller ginger tom padded forward. "I smell another cat" he told them. "Really, Lizardpaw?" Cloudfall asked. Lizardpaw began to walk in the direction Thistle was hiding. Thistle was silently begging that Lizardpaw didn't discover him. Stormcloud stepped in, "There's no other cat here, i would have seen them" she told them. "Fine" Cloudfall growled. "Let's go" Eagleflight meowed. Stormcloud followed her clanmates, casting one last glance where Thistle was hiding. When they had gone, Thistle padded back into the center of the clearing, feeling alone without Stormcloud. Chapter 5:The Three Little Kits and The Big Bad Fox It had been three days since the ShadowClan patrol had come and taken Stormcloud back home. Thistle missed his tortoiseshell companion greatly. Thistle was pacing Carrionplace when he heard the yelp of kits. It didn't sound like a normal yelp, it sounded like a call for help. Thistle dashed out of Carrionplace and toward the yelps. The cries took him to a forest across the Thunderpath. He thought he could scent other cats, but he ignored it. He eventually found three kits cornered by a large fox. Thistle hissed and leaped at the fox, raking his claws across it's side. The fox grabbed Thistle by the tail and threw him like prey. Thistle slammed into the trunk of a large tree and everything went black. Thistle awoke in a hollow tree trunk, Stormcloud stood over him. "What happened?" Thistle asked. "I found you unconsious by the tree, i smelled fox and at first thought you were dead." Stormcloud told him. "What about the kits?" Thistle asked. "Kits?" Stormshine sounded confused. "Three kits were cornered by the fox" Thistle explained. Thistle and Stormcloud searched the forest for the kits. They found a fox burrow with kit scent. The two cats nodded to each other and looked inside. The mother fox and two cubs were staring down at three kits. "No!" Thistle whispered. The three kits mewled. One of the fox cubs reached down and grasped one of the kits in it's jaws. Without thinking, Thistle flung himself at the fox cub. Chapter 6:Kits! Thistle slashed his claws across the fox cub's muzzle, the cub dropped the kit and wailed. The mother fox growled and leaped at Thistle. Stormcloud tackled into the fox and knocked it aside. The fox cubs sat in the corner of the den, a frightened look in their eyes. Thistle rolled underneath the fox and raked his claws across it's belly. Stormcloud slashed at the fox's ears. "We have to get out of here!" Stormcloud yowled. Thistle nodded and picked up a brown tabby kit and a blue-gray kit. Stormcloud picked up the dark gray kit. Thistle and Stormcloud burst out of the den, the kits wailing. Three cats appeared from the bushes. "The kits!" a golden tabby tom announced. "They are safe, Lionfang" Stormcloud murmured to the golden tabby. "Why are you on ThunderClan land?" the brown she-cat asked. "We heard the kits and came to help them,Volenose" Stormcloud meowed. Thistle didn't know if this was entirely true. "Sorrelheart will be so relieved" the gray tom meowed. "You're right,Palefoot" Lionfang meowed. "Thank you, i guess" Volenose grumbled. The three kits padded up to Stormcloud and Thistle, "thank you" they meowed. The dark brown tabby spoke "I'm Bearkit" he meowed. "I'm Oceankit" the mottled blue-gray she-cat meowed. "And i'm Elmkit" the dark gray kit meowed. As they padded home, Stormcloud whispered into Thistle's ear "I'm excpecting kits!" Chapter 7:A Tragedy Thistle waited until they got back to Carrionplace to disscus the kits. When they arrived, Thistle sat down. "So, you're excpecting my kits" Thistle meowed. "I won't see you again for a long time" Stormcloud meowed, grief clung to her tone. Thistle rubbed his muzzle against Stormcloud's. "I love you" he murmured as Stormcloud padded away. It had been many moons since Stormcloud first told Thistle about the kits, she had not returned since. Stormcloud had promised, that when the kits got older, she would take them to come and see him. Suddenly, a familiar scent hit his nose. Stormcloud appeared from the entrance. Her belly swayed with the kits. "What are you doing here?" Thistle asked her. "I had to see you" Stormcloud sounded tired. Stormcloud winced "Ouch!". Thistle's blood froze "You're having the kits now" he murmured. Stormcloud lay down on her side and started panting rapidly. Thistle raced over to her "I don't know what to do!" Thistle cried. "M-moss" Stormcloud barely got out the words. Thistle raced to get some and by the time he returned, a kit had already been born. Thistle let Stormcloud lap water from the moss. Stormcloud let out a shriek and another kit slid out, blood stained the ground. Stormcloud let out a final shriek and a third kit arrived. "Two toms and a she-kit" Thistle told Stormcloud. Stormcloud pointed to the kits "Names" her words were quiet. "You decide" Thistle murmured to her. Stormcloud nodded and assigned names. "Driftkit for the pale brown she-cat" she muttered. "Falconkit for the black tom, and Dragonkit for the dark gray tom." she finished. "I love you" Stormcloud muttered and closed her eyes. "No" Thistle whispered. Stormcloud's breathing stopped and Thistle knew that she was dead. Chapter 8:Help! Thistle stared in horror and grief at the limp body before him. His three kits mewled and Thistle knew he had to do something. Thistle picked up his kits, looked at Stormcloud's body, and headed out of Carrionplace. He dashed towards the direction Stormcloud had said ShadowClan was. He could feel sticky wetness under his paws and knew he was going in the right direction. Stormcloud said that a lot of marshes were in ShadowClan territory. Thistle arrived at the camp and called for help. A tortoiseshell she-cat came to him. "What's wrong?" she asked. "My mate died giving birth, my kits need milk" Thistle told her. The she-cat nodded "Frog-eye!" she called. A golden she-cat appeared. "Yes?" she asked. "I need you to nurse these kits" the tortoiseshell told her. Frog-eye nodded "Yes Dapplestar" she meowed. Thistle gave Frog-eye his kits and she headed of towards the nursery. "Who was your mate?" Dapplestar asked. "Stormcloud, a ShadowClan cat" Thistle murmured. Dapplestar's eyes grew wide and grief immediately flew from her pelt. "My daughter" Dapplestar murmured. "Cloudfall" Dapplestar yowled. The white tom walked over to Dapplestar. "Our daughter is dead" Dapplestar sobbed. Cloudfall hung his head low. Cloudfall then glared at Thistle "Take us to her body" he growled. Chapter 9:A New Home Thistle led Cloudfall and Dapplestar to Carrionplace. Whem they arrived, Thistle could see the moonlight shining on Stormcloud's body. Dapplestar and Cloudfall padded silently to her body and pushed their noses into her fur. "You did this!" Cloudfall turned toward Thistle. "I didn't plan for this to happen, i loved her!" Thistle hissed. "Wait, the cat that Lizardpaw had scented..." Cloudfall stopped his sentence. "Cloudfall, don't fight, let's get her back to camp" Dapplestar grabbed Stormcloud by the scruff. Cloudfall and Thistle went to help. Dapplestar, Cloudfall, and Thistle settled Stormcloud's body in the clearing. "Now we sit by her body all night" Dapplestar murmured into Thistle's ear. Thistle glanced at the Nursery, Driftkit,Falconkit, and Dragonkit were safe with Frog-eye. The black tom nodded and settled beside Dapplestar and Cloudfall. Suddenly, Thistle realized something, the reason Frog-eye was nursing his kits, why he was sitting vigil for Stormcloud. Thistle's heart warmed a little as he realized he had found a new home. Although his grief for Stormcloud quickly wiped out the warm felling. Chapter 10:Problems Cloudfall had demanded that he and Dapplestar bury Stormcloud alone. Thistle padded into the nursery. Frog-eye nursed four kits. "So, you have only one kit?" Thistle asked Frog-eye. "This is, Runningkit" Frog-eye gestured to a little golden kit with brown stripes. "He looks like you" Thistle murmured. Frog-eye nodded and for the first time, Thistle noticed that one of her eyes was sightless and had many slashes across it. "I got blinded by a ThunderClan warrior" Frog-eye murmured. "I have to go" Thistle told her felling awkward and padded out of the den. He bumped into a ginger tom. "Watch it" Thistle recognized Lizardpaw. Lizardpaw glared at him and ran off. Thistle looked up and saw Cloudfall assigning cats to patrols and Thistle guessed Cloudfall was deputy. The black tom padded up to him "Is there anything i can do?" Thistle asked Cloudfall. "No" Cloudfall growled. Many other cats laughed. "Cloudfall!" Dapplestar hissed, Thistle saw the tortoiseshell she-cat, grief stained her gaze and Thistle thought of Stormcloud, his heart felt heavy. "Do not treat our newest warrior with such disrespect" Dapplestar commanded. "Newest warrior" Cloudfall hissed. Dapplestar nodded and jumped on a tall log. "May the cats of ShadowClan gather" Dapplestar called. "No" Cloudfall whispered. Chapter 11:The Newest Warrior All of the ShadowClan cats gathered near to the log that Dapplestar was perched on. "I have gathered you here for the naming of our new warrior" Dapplestar told them. Gaspes echoed across the clearing. "Thistle" Dapplestar beckoned him with her tail. "By the spirits of SarClan, i give you your new name, Thistle, from this day foward you shall be known as Thistlepelt!" Dapplestar announced. "Thistlepelt! Thistlepelt!" Frog-eye and Runningkit were the only ones chearing. Driftkit, Falconkit, and Dragonkit began chearing as well. A few cats muttered Thistlepelt's name quietly. Cloudfall and Lizardpaw were the only cats to remain completely silent. Dapplestar jumped down from the log and congratulated Thistlepelt. Dragonkit leaped on Thistlepelt's back while Driftkit and Falconkit batted at his paws. "Our dad's a warrior!" Driftkit squeaked happily. "I'm going to be the best warrior in the forest!" Dragonkit exclaimed. "No, I am!" Falconkit protested. "I think you all will be" Thistlepelt told them. Chapter 12:Apprentices! It had been six moons since Thistlepelt had become a warrior and it was time for Dragonkit, Driftkit, Falconkit, and Runningkit to become apprentices! Dapplestar's meow snapped Thistlepelt back to reality. "Runningkit, from this day forward, you will be known as Runningpaw, your mentor will be Cloudfall". Runningpaw touched noses with his mentor. "Falconkit, from this day forward you will be known as Falconpaw, your mentor will be Bluebird" Falconpaw touched noses with the bluish gray she-cat. "Driftkit, you will be known as Driftpaw, your mentor will be Nightwhisker" Driftpaw and the black tom touched noses like the others. "And finally, Dragonkit, you will be known as Dragonpaw, your mentor will be Lizardclaw. Thistlepelt felt doubt in his pelt, Lizardclaw and Cloudfall were the main ones that disliked him and his kits. Cloudfall, Nightwhisker, and Bluebird took the apprentices hunting. "You're checking the elders for ticks" Lizardclaw hissed at Dragonpaw. Dragonpaw's ears drooped and Thistlepelt felt sorry for his son. Thistlepelt wondered if this was the right place for him and his kits to live but he shook the thought away. ShadowClan was his and his kit's home. Chapter 13:Hunting with Dapplestar Thistlepelt and Dapplestar scanned the marsh for frogs. Thistlepelt was suprised when his leader had asked for a private hunt. "Driftpaw and Falconpaw are good hunters, Dragonpaw lags a little" Dapplestar broke the silence. "That's because Lizardclaw keeps him in camp as long as possible" Thistlepelt protested. "I can't tell Lizardclaw how to train Dragonpaw" Dapplestar told Thistlepelt. "I think Dragonpaw needs a new mentor" Thistlepelt told his leader. "It was my decision, give it time" Dapplestar murmured. Thistlepelt nodded and the two continued to search for prey. After a while, Dapplestar spoke "There seems to be no prey" she meowed. Suddenly, familiar scents wafted into Thistlepelt's nose. "Dapplestar" he murmured, but it was too late. Several rogues appeared from the marsh, the leader, a dark brown tom, stepped forward. "It seems we have stolen all your prey" he murmured. "Hawk" Thistlepelt growled as he recognized the tom. Hawk stepped forward, but not to Thistlepelt, Hawk walked to Dapplestar. "Greeting, Dappleheart" he whispered. Chapter 14:Two Against Five Dapplestar hissed and leaped at Hawk, two rogues ran to help their leader. Thistlepelt ried to help his leader, but two other rogues blocked his way. Thistlepelt ducked underneath a gray tabby and raked his claws across the tom's belly. A white she-cat slashed Thistlepelt's face with her claws. Blood trickled into Thistlepelt's eyes and he was forced to close them. He sank his teeth into a tail and flung the cat away. Thistlepelt could hear the white she-cat's cry as he threw her into the marsh. Thistlepelt drove the gray tabby away by slashing his shoulders. Thistlepelt ran over and hauled Hawk off of Dapplestar. "Traitor!" Hawk hissed, hatred burned in his green eyes. Thistlepelt scored his claws down Hawk's belly. "You joined them!" Hawk growled and he dug his claws into Thistlepelt's throat. Dapplestar dragged Hawk off and sent him away with a bite to his tail. Thistlepelt saw that Dapplestar had driven the last two rogues away as well. However, Dapplestar collapsed as she lost blood rapidly from her throat. "Hawk" were Dapplestar's last words as she closed her eyes and her breathing stopped. Thistlepelt burned with anger, Hawk had killed Dapplestar! However, after a few moments, Dapplestar's breathing resumed and her eyes opened. "I lost one of my nine lives" she told Thistlepelt. Thistlepelt gave a sigh of relief as he helped Dapplestar up. Dapplestar murmured to Thistlepelt "I need to tell you about my past, I was born in a similiar way as your kits" Chapter 15:Dapplestar's Past Dapplestar settled by Thistlepelt and began the story of her past. "My mother was Redwhisker, a ShadowClan warrior, she fell in love with Sunstripe, a ThunderClan tom" Dapplestar began. "Redwhisker gave birth to me and named me Dapplekit because the sun dappled on my coat when I was born. Redwhisker never told anyone who my father was and everyone assumed it was some ShadowClan tom." Dapplestar continued. "However, in a ThunderClan and ShadowClan battle, Redwhisker was killed by a ThunderClan she-cat named Whiteleaf, Sunstripe killed Whiteleaf out of anger. ThunderClan found out that Sunstripe killed Whiteleaf and he was exiled. Before leaving, Sunstripe revealed he was my father and left. When i became a warrior, I was named Dappleheart and I fell in love with Cloudfall and we had Stormcloud. I became leader, and then deputy, after Mudstar died in a fire. One night, the ThunderClan leader, Poolstar, announced that they found Sunstripe on their territory and killed him because he was old and frail." Dapplestar's voice filled with grief. "Hawk knows me because I once ran away from the clan and lived with his rogues. That's why I respect you and your kits" Dapplestar finished. "However, you must prove your loyalty to the rest of the clan." Chapter 16:The Secret Training Thistlepelt came across a decision one night about what to do with how Dragonpaw was being mentored by Lizardclaw. Thistlepelt woke Dragonpaw up in the apprentice's den, careful not to wake up Driftpaw, Falconpaw, or Runningpaw. When they tried to leave camp, Tigerfang stopped them "Where are you two going?" he asked. Tigerfang's brown pelt was ruffled as if he saw Thistlepelt as an enemy. "Taking a walk with my son" Thistlepelt replied. Tigerfang nodded reluctantly "Fine" he muttered. "What are we doing?" Dragonpaw asked. "I'm going to secretly train you" Thistlepelt told his son. "Yay! Now I can get as good at tracking as Runningpaw, or as good at hunting as Driftpaw, or even a good fighter like Falconpaw!" Dragonpaw cheered. Thistlepelt nodded and perfected Dragonpaw's hunter's crouch. They also had enough time to hunt and Dragonpaw caught a large vole. "Good job" Thistlepelt complimented his son. When they were returning, Thistlepelt had to make Dragonpaw promise not to tell anyone about the training. "I promise" Dragonpaw told his father. Dragonpaw dashed towards the apprentice's den and quickly fell asleep, however, it was only moments before Lizardclaw awoke him for his duties. Chapter 17:Trespassing Thistlepelt shivered as the snow continued to fall from the sky. Thistlepelt disliked the season of leaf-bare, it brought cold air and little prey. Suddenly, a white she-cat with black stripes and black paws burst into camp. "What's wrong, Orcasplash?" Dapplestar asked. The young ShadowClan she-cat replied, sounding tired "ThunderClan scent in our territory" Orcasplash gasped. "Thistlepelt, you go with Orcasplash to the border and check" Dapplestar commanded. Thistlepelt nodded and knew that Dapplestar was giving him a chance to prove his loyalty. Orcasplash ran beside Thistlepelt to where the ShadowClan she-cat had scented ThunderClan cats. They arrived at the edge of the territory, the marsh was frozen underneath their paws. Thistlepelt inhaled and he could scent the reeking stench of ThunderClan. Suddenly, a black and white paw slammed onto the ice in front of Thistlepelt. At first, Thistlepelt thought it was Orcasplash, but he could then see it was a badger! The badger leaped on Orcasplash and snapped it's jaws only inches from Orcasplash's throat. "No!" Thistlepelt slashed his claws across the badger's spine and sent the beast away. "Thank you" Orcasplash murmured, her pelt quivered with fright. "Let's go back home" Thistlepelt murmured to the scared warrior as they returned to the camp. Chapter 18:The Battle On The Thunderpath Category:Tigerfoot's Pages Category:Fanfiction